So May is over - I cannot believe it's already June!! We've spent the month travelling through four countries... and keeping my maths skills up with five currencies!!
The Polish zloty, Hungarian forint, Bulgarian Lev, Euro and Czech koruna for our brief unscheduled stop in Brclav on the way to Slovakia thanks to verrry slow Polish trains.
We started off May with a week in Warsaw, including a visit to my ancestoral home of Chelm. Warsaw delivered a gorgeous old town, warm Sunday afternoon farmers market in the park, hipster coffee and vegan burgers(!!), and a wonderful apartment to chill out in.
Just your run of the mill roundabout in Warsaw...
I am so glad we searched out the Polish milk bars. With Polish food reminiscent of my grandmother's cooking, and a constant stream of locals queuing for a cheap, hearty meal, it was definitely a highlight.
Next up was Bratislava where we soaked up the weather by the waterfront and in the large and beautiful old town. We checked out the castle where Hungarian kings were crowned for hundreds of years and got incredible views over the city.
The Eurovea mall by the waterfront was a popular spot for locals on the weekend
Bratislava was a really interesting city - a perfectly preserved centre full of tourists surrounded by a normal city that felt slightly abandoned by its people and dotted with abandoned buildings with blown out windows.
My favourite feature was the forest - a mere 4km from the city centre and accessible by local bus. It's so nice to get in a bit of nature when you're spending so much time in cities!
A two-day planned stay in Budapest morphed into eight as we slowed our pace. Despite having been in Budapest in April, there was plenty we hadn't seen, and it gave us a chance to wander the city aimlessly for days. Budapest has something interesting around every corner as demonstrated by a stumbling onto a cafe filled with wildlife where you drink a coffee and stroke a chameleon.
City park on a sunny day - love, love, love Budapest!!
After an epic train ride (a highlight in itself), we hit Bulgaria for the first time. Sofia was the first destination with very little obvious tourism - not even the ubiquitous "hop on hop off" tour - and yet the first place we joined a (hiking) tour.
Almost half of Bulgarians live in (greater) Sofia and the rural life we saw from the train looked as though it belonged to another time (horse and carts at more than one station).
Bulgarian countryside
Super friendly people, incredible value for money and an awesome apartment kept us there for 10 days and rounded out May. I'd head back to Sofia for its understated elegance and $5.50 IMAX anytime...
Nafplio, Greece
We are currently soaking up the sun (and a bit of the rain) in Nafplio in the Peloponnese region of Greece with my sis, Lex and our friend, Louise.
We've found ourselves staying in a gorgeous old art-filled home overlooking a lovely park and a gigantic hill with impressive ruins.
View of gigantic hill and ruins
The town is centred around its waterfront and old town built by the Venetians and filled with picturesque alleys.
We've got a couple of plans for the coming days, including a day cruise to a couple of neighbouring islands... As always, I'll let you know how we go!!
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